ABOUT US

Mitya: I lived in Russia all my life and currently I start to explore the life and travel in the UK and I find it quite amazing.

I am a computer scientist and worked as a software engineer in Russia. Now I'm doing my PhD here not far from London. Update: Now I have my PhD and work as a postdoc researcher here not far from London :)

I like to wander somewhere in the Russian North, away from big cities and crowds. Also, I am a big fan of cross-country skiing and orienteering.

Natasha:

Well, while Mitya seems to be quite a serious person (ha-ha!), I'm a bit of a mad film historian muddler. I was born and then raised in the Russian North, in some really beautiful place of virgin forests and ancient folklore. Studying the history of literature as my first degree, I travelled both in Russia and abroad, and now I am glad to continue doing (more or less) the same things here, in Britain.

In Russia I used to work as a guitar teacher at school, a freelance translator, then as a lexicographer and a software linguist... at some point managed to be somewhat an art supplies consultant, not mentioning a bit of bartending (so I can make a lovely cocktail... or brew really nice spicy coffee)

Currently, I am committed to my PhD research in German and Soviet silent cinema (1920-30s), occasionally do some Russian teaching and... just chill out.

Apart from the old films I like film festivals, libraries, film museums and archives, open-air swimming (lakes, rivers, seas, just not a swimming-pool - and no matter how cold the water is!), making sketches, meeting new nice folks, playing guitar, leading long and preferrably art-related pint/wine talks, hitchhiking, camping and hikes...

Mitya is an early riser and I'm a desperately nocturnal creature. So our house is almost always awake for guests!

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

not much yet,
hope to surf and host soon :)

Upd. Yahooo! It is amazing so far -- and I am pretty sure it is going to stay like that! (Mitya)

Interessen

Our fields of interest presented in random order include: arts, mountaineering, visiting small russian towns, cycling, cross-country skiing, literature, old cinema, performance, guitar playing, culture of the 1920-30s, fin de siecle, art deco, constructivism, maths, programming, narrow-gauge railways, trekking, Grateful Dead music, jazz, programming, hitch-hiking, poetry, peaty whiskey, jam making, busking and a number of other things.

• arts
• culture
• literature
• poetry
• singing
• folklore
• performing arts
• festivals
• film festivals
• cooking
• wine
• cocktails
• coffee
• cartoons
• movies
• traveling
• billiards
• music
• jazz
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• mountaineering
• skiing
• swimming
• teaching
• engineering
• freelancing
• history
• languages
• mathematics
• science
• software
• hitchhiking
• lakes
• rivers

Musik, Filme und Bücher

Literature -- russian poetry (Mandelshtam, Petrov, Tsvetaeva), Andrej Platonov, Marcel Proust, Robert Musil, Franz Kafka, Nabokov ('The Gift'), Petronius, Lucian, W.H.Auden, etc.

Music:
Mitya: russian "chamber song" (Elena Frolova, Sergej Truhanov), russian underground ("Solomennye Enoty", "Grazhdanskaja Oborona", "Doch Monroe i Kennedy"), psychedelic 60s (Grateful Dead), canterbury scene, ecm jazz, classical music.

Natasha: psychedelic 60s, jazz, bluegrass, Eric Satie, Igor Stravinsky, Sergey Prokofiev, Chet Baker, Kurt Weil, Lotte Lenya, Bessie Smith, Patti Smith, Tomasz Stanko, Tord Gustavsen, Keith Jarrett, Meredith Monk, Nino Rota, Dagmar Krause and others.

Films -- Feuillade, Pabst, Murnau, Lang, Ermler, Dziga Vertov and Soviet avant-garde, film noir, Fellini, Rivette, Saura, Truffaut, Tarkovsky, Iosseliani, Pasolini, Bergman, Svankmajer ...

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

Mitya:
here is one such thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxfoz_L5Uy8

Natasha:
Hmmm... snowy Elbrus!
Aurora Borealis.
The screening of the Soviet silent 'Storm over Asia' with the live Tuvan throat-singing accompanement.

Lehren, lernen, teilen

Mitya: I have a passion to the dying world of russian narrow-gauge railways and I may try to explain what is so wonderful there).
Also, as any russian, I like to pick wild mushrooms and as far as I know this skill is not very popular among british people.

Natasha: As I'm completely hooked up with silent cinema, I'm always ready to share my filmic passion: talk about it, watch smth together, etc. I can show you some truly amazing old Soviet cartoons and lead long discussions about literature and art (preferrably accompanied with a glass of wine or peaty scotch).

Among my practical skills that I am glad to share are guitar playing, bravery of swimming in wild rivers and lakes, various handmade things, and - to some extent - cooking (I like to make delicious Russian dishes, homemade jams, ice-cream, pancakes, apple pies, brownies...)

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